The Power of Creation

The matter is over.

Although they didn't know that Little Sasuke had decided to do this, Naruto himself handled things cleanly and efficiently.

Kisame Hoshigaki of this world has been properly taken care of.

Naruto protected him with a special Sealing Jutsu, not the cold, impersonal kind that locks someone in and prevents them from ever escaping, but a gentle, warm seal, as if laying out a bed for a weary traveler.

Kisame slept peacefully, his expression relaxed and unguarded. He was dreaming—a very long, beautiful dream, a dream he had chosen himself.

That dream was given to him by Naruto.

That Genjutsu was similar to Infinite Tsukuyomi, but it was Infinite Tsukuyomi. Infinite Tsukuyomi turns a person into White Zetsu, drains their body dry, and takes everything away from them. But what Naruto did—it took nothing.

It simply sent Kisame to the world of his dreams, a world without deception, falsehood, or killing, a world where Kisame could live the life he desired.

When will this Genjutsu be lifted?

Naruto set the timeline at a very, very distant point—until Kisame lived the most beautiful, happiest, and most regretless time in his dream world, until all his wishes have been fulfilled, all his last wishes have been completed, and all his thoughts have been put aside—only then will the Genjutsu be dispelled.

Time inside is infinite. Kisame can live in that world for a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years, until he feels he has lived enough, until he feels his life has been worthwhile, until the moment he closes his eyes, the corners of his mouth are turned up, and his heart is free of any regrets.

Naruto didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong.

He didn't know whether stuffing someone into a beautiful dream and preventing them from ever waking up was a form of kindness or cruelty.

The Kisame of this world will not betray him, will not follow him, and will not accept any of his proposals.

Kisame had already made his decision; he was going to live in that Genjutsu world, Naruto merely helped him fulfill that wish. But is fulfilling someone's wish always the right thing to do?

If that wish is to escape, if that wish is to lock oneself in a fictional world and never come out again, if that wish is to abandon reality—then by helping Kisame fulfill this wish, is he helping him or harming him?

Naruto still couldn't figure out the answer.

He did it anyway—he added plenty of extra precautions to the Sealing Jutsu.

The wrapped-up Kisame slept peacefully in a place where no one could find him, undisturbed by anyone.

Even if the Otsutsuki came, Kisame wouldn't be awakened. He would remain peaceful and comfortable in his dreams. Naruto could guarantee that.

Little Sasuke and Naruto's clones returned to their own world. Little Naruto went to check on his companions, while the Big Naruto and Uchiha Satsuki left the Itachi Uchiha's side in this world. The One Naruto Two Sasuke then reunited.

"Your Naruto hasn't come back yet."

Satsuki's voice drifted towards Little Sasuke. "What are your plans next?"

What do you mean by "your Naruto"?

Little Sasuke's lips twitched slightly. The way he was addressed made him feel a little nauseous, and he wanted to say something in response—like, "He's not my Naruto" or "Could you please say it another way?"

But after glancing at Satsuki, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Discretion is the better part of valor. This was the conclusion he reached very quickly in a short time.

"Yes, thank you."

Little Sasuke's voice was very serious. "Thank you for telling me the truth. Thank you for everything you've done. And..."

"Thank you for what happened with Dad and Mom."

"But..."

He raised his head and looked directly at Naruto and Satsuki.

Even so, I still hope I can ask you for a favor.

At this point, something very familiar burned in Sasuke's eyes: hatred.

"I hope you can kill Danzō Shimura of this world."

Big Naruto was somewhat surprised. He thought Little Sasuke would say, "Please give me power," or "Please make me stronger," but Little Sasuke said, "Please help me defeat him."

They actually handed over the opportunity for revenge to them.

Is this a good idea?

Big Naruto's gaze fell on Little Sasuke's face, on those eyes that were burning with flames, yet not consumed by them.

"He's your enemy. Don't you want to kill him yourself?"

This question made Little Sasuke's eyelashes tremble slightly. He wanted to. He wanted to so badly. He desperately wanted to see that man die—not as someone else told him, not as he read in some report, but as someone he saw with his own eyes.

Seeing the man fall to the ground, seeing the light in his eyes go out, seeing the rat who had been manipulating everything from the shadows of Konoha finally dead.

"... Yes, I really want to."

His voice was strained. "I miss him terribly. No matter what, I really want to see him die."

"But... Danzo was once a contender for Hokage. His strength is far beyond what I can compare to now."

When he said this, his tone was calm, clear, and honest.

He knew his current strength; he was no match for Danzo.

That man was able to stand next to the Third Hokage for so many years, manipulate so many things in the shadows of the Anbu, and push the Uchiha Clan to that point—not because he was lucky, but because he was ruthless and unscrupulous.

And what about himself? A Genin who failed to be promoted Chunin chunin.

What does he have left to kill Danzo? His life?

"So you don't plan to slowly grow stronger before killing him?"

"I cannot accept this."

Little Sasuke's reply came quickly, "That man is the one I find most intolerable among those involved in the Uchiha Massacre."

"He proposed that absurd deal to Itachi. He was the one who drove the entire Uchiha Clan to that point. He is the biggest culprit."

"Just the thought that he's still alive in this world, hiding in the shadows like a rat, continuing to manipulate everything in some corner of Konoha, continuing to decide the life and death of others with his twisted logic, and that I have to wait, to wait a long time, to wait until he can still live in this world for several more years..."

"I just couldn't stand it."

He took a deep breath, suppressing some of the turmoil within him, and looked up at Big Naruto. "Please. If it's you guys, Danzo is nothing to fear."

Big Naruto remained silent for a moment.

"Sasuke, you're more mature than I expected."

Little Sasuke's face flushed slightly.

He wasn't used to it, not used to that Dead Last's face showing such a mature expression, praising him so earnestly, not used to these words coming from Naruto's mouth from another world, words that he didn't dislike at all.

Of course, Little Sasuke understood why he could refrain from personally killing his enemies.

He imagined the future: his parents were resurrected, and what would it be like if the lights in that empty ancestral land could be lit again?

"Since that's the case..."

Big Naruto's voice pulled Little Sasuke back from his reverie. "I'll give you a present."

"I hope you can stay true to yourself after you've avenged your enemy."

Little Sasuke was stunned for a moment. Before he could react to what those words meant, Big Naruto reached out and placed his palm down over one of Little Sasuke's eyes.

Little Sasuke somewhat taken aback by Big Naruto's sudden approach.

At the same time, he felt a gaze upon him.

The gaze was very close; it was from Big Naruto's right eye—the eye he hadn't paid much attention to before, but at this moment, it was completely captivating.

It wasn't the Sharingan, the Byakugan, or even Satsuki's Nine Tomoe Rinnegan that instilled fear in him at just a glance.

This was an eye that he could not predict at all, could not understand at all, and had no idea how to face.

With a black base and golden pupils, that eye moved quietly, emitting no sense of oppression or chakra aura; it simply existed serenely.

Little Sasuke stared at that eye, his mind blank.

Upon seeing an ordinary Sharingan, he would be wary of Genjutsu, guard against the other party copying his movements, and silently calculate how to respond.

Upon seeing Satsuki's Nine Tomoe Rinnegan, he felt a fear welling up from the depths of his soul. This fear wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but rather an instinctive realization that this was something he couldn't fight against.

But Naruto's eye—he had never seen it in any book before, he had absolutely no idea how to predict it, no idea what would happen, and no idea what he should do.

It's almost like gazing at the unfathomable starry sky.

You stand under the night sky, looking up at the stars. You know they are there, you know they are huge, you know they are far away, but you don't know exactly how big they are, how far away they are, or what they are doing at that very moment.

You can only watch, you can only look up at it, there's nothing you can do.

"Okay. That's all."

Big Naruto's voice pulled Little Sasuke back from his dazed state. He lowered his hand, Naruto, and then, as if by magic, pulled a small mirror from behind him.

"Take a look. Consider it a parting gift."

Little Sasuke took the mirror, held it in his hand blankly, and looked at the mirror with some confusion.

Then he saw it.

The face in the mirror was still his face, the same face he saw every day when he washed his face, a face he knew all too well. But those eyes—they weren't his eyes anymore.

What came into view was a purple eye with wavy lines.

The other eye—red, with a strangely shaped pupil, like a blooming flower—was quietly set in its socket, side by side with the purple eye. One purple, one red; one still, one moving, they merged in his eyes.

(Regarding what else the protagonist can do, I think it's best to leave the alternate world to Naruto and Sasuke. But what the protagonist can do... I'm afraid the author's imagination might make the protagonist seem a bit hypocritical.)